Weekly Pastor Online

A FATHER'S RESPONSIBILITY!

And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)

Self evaluation can sometimes be painful. As a father of adult children, I often think about what I could have done better as a parent. Certainly long work hours when they were young did not afford me all of the time that I wanted to have with them. But there is one area that I feel very good about. I made sure that they accepted Christ as their Savior. I believe that it is a Father's (and Mother's) responsibility to expose and lead his children to the Lord.

In the passage above, Joshua had summoned the leaders of Israel to Shechem for a farewell address. He charged them to obey the Lord who had fought for them and given then an inheritance. He made it clear that his household would serve the Lord God. He acknowledged his responsibility for the spiritual life of his family. He was an example for his family in his service to the Lord. In such a case, the family is more likely to follow the parent.

The Bible does not say a lot about Joshua's household. However other sources name Rahab as Joshua's wife. They had daughters but no son. From this union many prophets descended. Assuming that is true, we can see that Joshua's influence was not limited to his children, but to his wife (Rahab), as well as later generations of family. This is remarkable because Rahab was not an Israelite. In addition, she had been a prostitute. But because of the influence of Joshua, she became a member of his household and a servant of God.

Certainly Fathers should provide adequate funds for the children's care. And a father should demonstrate love to his children by helping with homework, and taking them to the park. He should not avoid sharing with the mother the everyday activities that parenthood entails. Taking them to piano lessons, and teaching them how to swim is his job as well as hers. But while all of these things are important, he must not overlook the task of presenting them to the Lord.

As we celebrate Father's Day, let us remember that the greatest contribution that a father can make, is to be the Spiritual Leader that guides his family to Christ. In my opinion, that is a Father's responsibility. I can truly say, "but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."